Odysseus

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Odysseus was a legendary Greek king of Ithaka and a hero in Homer's two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The husband of Penelope, he is well renowned as the hero who helped end the Trojan War.

Biography

Trojan War and Odyssey

Mural of Odysseus blinding the Cyclops Polyphemos

Odysseus was the son of Laertes, one of the Argonauts. As King of Ithaka, Odysseus owned a palace on the island. When the Trojan War broke out, Odysseus left the palace to his son's supervision and departed for Troy. During the 10-year war, Odysseus was a major player, creating the Trojan Horse which helped the Greeks to win the battle. During his return trip that took another ten years, Odysseus experienced numerous adventures, among them defeating the Cyclops Polyphemos, and eluding the monstrous creatures Skylla and Charybdis.

Return to Ithaka

When he finally returned to the island, he was received by his swineherd Eumaios and met the goddess Athena at Melanthios' Goat Farm, who provided him with a disguise to aid him in killing all of Penelope's suitors. He ended up participating in an archery contest which had been organized by the suitors to decide on who was to marry her and become king. The contestants would have to string Odysseus' Bow and then shoot an arrow through twelve axes in a row to be victorious. All of the suitors tried to stretch the bow, some of them even heating it and greasing it, but all of them failed to string it. A disguised Odysseus then took the bow and shot an arrow through the targets with ease. Revealed as the rightful king of Ithaka, Odysseus proceeded to slaughter all of the pretendants to his throne with the help of Eumaios, including his disloyal goatherd Melanthios, who, while Odysseus had been away at war, had betrayed him and attempted to impress Penelope's suitors, and when he returned, had mistaken him for a beggar and struck him. Odysseus also visited the Cave of the Nymphs after his return.

Legacy and influence

While in Ithaka in 431 BCE, the misthios Kassandra visited Odysseus' Palace at the request of Elpenor to recover Penelope's Shroud from the bandits that lurked in the ruins. During said visit, she also encountered a woman named Odessa, who claimed descent from Odysseus. At her request, the mercenary escorted Odessa in a guided tour through the palace.

In 405 BCE, Kassandra found the entrance to the legendary Vault of Odysseus, at the request of Odessa, underneath the Grand Temple of Apollo at the Sanctuary of Apollo in Delos, wherein his bow was supposedly stored. While exploring the tomb, she theorized that Odysseus could have built the vault himself to hide his treasured weapon. Eventually, she found the bow inside the complex and proved herself strong enough to use the bow to shoot an arrow through several axes in a row, mirroring Odysseus' exploits during his time. After successfully exiting the chamber, Kassandra handled the bow to Odysseus' supposed descendant. When she revealed to be unfit to use it due to her lack of strength, Odessa passed the bow onto Kassandra's custody.

On 14 July 1754, while musing on how to enter Southgate Fort, kill Silas Thatcher, and free the enslaved Kanien'kehá:ka, the British Templar Haytham Kenway mentioned Odysseus in an oblique allusion to how the hero tricked his enemies with the Trojan Horse into letting him into their city stronghold and defeat them from the inside, an act that inspired Haytham to a similar action.

In 2018, one of Layla Hassan's Animus modifications enabled an avatar based on the mythical hero to become a lieutenant aboard Kassandra's ship, the Adrestia, in the simulated environment of the Portable Animus HR-8.5. Another of her modifications also enabled an armor set that allegedly belonged to Odysseus to be worn by the misthios.

Behind the scenes

Odysseus was a legendary figure and character first mentioned in Assassin's Creed: Revelations and heavily in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey.

The mural of Odysseus and the Sirens is based on a red-figure stamnos from the 5th century BCE. The mural depicting Odysseus blinding the Cyclops Polyphemos is based on a painting on an amphora from the 6th century BCE. The mural featuring Odysseus with a sword is based on the reconstruction of Polygnotos' Nekyia.

Gallery

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  Odysseus and his crew facing the sirens
• 
  Kassandra wearing Odysseus' armor

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed III (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Forsaken (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (artwork only, simulated ship lieutenant)
• Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (mentioned only)